Just when the FIA appeared to have its hands full adjusting Formula 1 regulations to prevent accidents like the one we witnessed at Suzuka, fans have to address another area of focus during this break. And never more apt. Because the stewards are facing another problem that nobody expected: fires on the track.
A few years ago the FIA compelled Formula 1 teams to use titanium on the undersides of their cars so that scraping the asphalt would produce sparks, something they deemed visually spectacular. Now they have realized that those sparks are the answer to the mysterious spontaneous fires in Formula 1.
The Formula 1 study to remove titanium from the cars
The FIA will have its hands full this April, even though there are no Formula 1 races scheduled due to the crisis in the Middle East. In addition to needing to review the regulations amid the harsh criticisms the races have been receiving, a smaller yet spectacular problem has arisen: the fires.
For several years Formula 1 has been experiencing spontaneous fires that seemed inexplicable. They typically occurred at circuits with grassy runoffs and dry conditions. China and Japan led this troubling trend. Now the FIA has discovered what is happening: the sparks from the cars trigger the fires.
The problem is that if the cars spit sparks, it’s because the FIA wanted it that way. The federation asked the teams to use titanium on the underbody so that sparks would fly when it brushed the asphalt, something they considered visually very pleasing from an aesthetic standpoint. What no one anticipated was this unwanted side effect.
Now the FIA wants to take measures to end the fires, but it isn’t straightforward. The first thought was to replace titanium with steel, but that would add more weight to the cars at a time when every team is obsessed with shedding as much weight as possible to reach the minimum weight.
For now, what has been done in Shanghai and Suzuka has been to water the grassy runoffs constantly, something that has yielded some results, since the fires have diminished compared to previous editions of the Grand Prix. But still, the FIA wants to find a more technical solution to the problem.
Let’s see what the FIA does to fix a problem it created by aiming to enhance the artificial spectacle.
Images | Haas, McLaren
